


You spent a long time with Shinjiro

by doot_croovoot



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance, sadness and self-esteem issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doot_croovoot/pseuds/doot_croovoot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Persona 3. Minako (or Hamuko) Arisato doesn't care that spending time with Shinjiro Aragaki no longer benefits her in terms of her Personas. The extra scene of the Moon social link, where Minako visits Shinjiro's room! Lots of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Minako arrived, and did a quick survey of who was in the lobby.

Just Akihiko and Shinjiro this evening.

Akihiko seemed to have been reading on a barstool, but once his gaze fell upon Minako, he nodded in Shinjiro's direction, then abruptly got up and left. He seemed to have accidentally abandoned his book, but didn't even glance back at it. Perhaps he felt too awkward.

Shinjiro was facing where Akihiko once was, leaning against a wall in the corner of the room. He simply watched his friend go without even moving. Only very mild confusion was apparent in his expression, followed by a brief grunt of acceptance.

_Great,_  Minako thought. _Akihiko knew. He knew it. It was_ that _obvious._

Minako focussed on Shinji - who was wearing his huge burgundy coat and black beanie hat despite being indoors, hands in pockets as usual - and tentatively walked towards him.

"You..." he murmured.

Minako paused her step and swallowed.

"I'm okay..." he said, "I feel better after our talk."

Minako realised he probably mistook her timid mannerisms for concerned ones. Wow, though. He felt better. She'd helped him feel better about something. Awesome.

"...Take care of them," he told her. "I believe in you."

Woah... How does someone respond to that? And, couldn't he take care of everyone, if he wanted to? Why did Minako have to do it? She didn't know some people in the dorm as well as Shinjiro did. Sheesh.

She had an unbreakable bond with Shinjiro himself, though. She could feel it. Minako had always been very attuned to the emotions of those around her, and her ability to read Shinjiro slightly better than everyone else could gave her pride; despite how much of him was still left as very intriguing. This resulted in her feeling more comfortable around him than she was with anyone else in S.E.E.S., but daren't say his feelings were corresponding. She knew he was fond of her, but that was all.

Minako hesitantly decided she would do what she wanted to do. She was going to spend time with Shinji, even if what he said just now may have been his way of letting her know she was no longer of relevance to him. She hoped she was overreacting to that.

Minako leaned on the wall next to Shinjiro.

She would call him "Shinjiro-sempai," but she had heard Akihiko simply call him "Shinji," which was something Minako had unintentionally started doing internally. He was tall, and the angle at which she could see his face was just so flattering. She could've watched him from there forever. So cheesy.

She looked away, self-conscious. So much for being comfortable.

"Shouldn't you be with the others...? I can't give you anything or do anything for you."

Shinjiro's voice almost severed into her nerves, and the world suddenly felt uncomfortably warm. It sounded like he wanted her gone, but his reasoning was that he himself was a waste of Minako's time. Not true. She needed to tell him otherwise. Her heart rate had dramatically increased just thinking about it. She could almost swear it was audible. It was so hot in there right now, in her school uniform. Thinking of Shinjiro in that huge coat almost made her nauseous. He probably wasn't absolutely brimming with nerves at that moment, but Minako still felt what was almost like secondhand discomfort. She was in a state already.

Utterly refusing to look at Shinji, she said with as much confidence as she could muster;

"I want to be with you."

_Immediate regret._ How on Earth would he react to that? She could think of many possibilities. Which one was it? Well, she wouldn't know, because she was looking at the entrance to the lobby, and not at the person she was talking to. Smooth.

Completely giving up on hiding her feelings now, she brought her head round to see that Shinjiro hadn't been fazed one bit.  _What?_ Wasn't he surprised, or, something? Happy, sad, annoyed? Nothing? Maybe he was just so inexpressive that whatever he was feeling was something she had to search more thoroughly for. She looked at his eyes, poking out under that beanie hat, hiding slightly behind his hair. Did they look confused or disgruntled? Pupils. Everyone has pupils. Were his doing things? Dilating?

"...You can stare at me like that all day, I got nothing or you."

There was a hint of amusement in Shinjiro's tone. She'd been staring. He seemed to think it was funny. Great. Perfect. Lovely.

"Haven't you wasted enough time on me?" he went on. "What more do you want?"

The amusement died as quickly as it had emerged. Minako could feel her pulse in her head. So many things Shinjro would say made his low self-esteem incredibly apparent. Couldn't he understand, he was worth her effort? The time she spent with him was anything but wasted. She loved spending time with him. Had she never let him know that? Did he think he was annoying her...? Or was he sick of her? Oh  _God_ , she probably hadn't told him she enjoyed his company, directly or otherwise. Did she think it was a huge given, considering her feelings? Or did he mind her being there? He might have thought he was a burden! Not good!

"I love you," Minako blurted.

"Huh...?"

_Shit._

She'd type those words out whilst texting him, then delete them. Occasionally, she'd randomly mutter it to herself quietly when she was alone, thinking of him. She'd say it so many times in her own head when he was simply in the same room. It was embarrassing, and something she struggled to admit; even to herself. Apparently, the filter had suddenly broken.

The blood rose in Shinjiro's cheeks, and his eyes widened. More expression than he'd usually let himself show in a week.

A moment of silence. Painful eye contact.

He shook his head. "D-Don't tease me like that!"

Wait, what?

Was he considering her to be toying with him? Now? Over something like this?

"I'm not teasing you!" Minako blurted again.

Shinjrio blinked. "Urgh..."

He placed one hand on his head, lightly gripping his hat, and kept the other in its pocket. He faced away, seemingly trying his hardest to keep it cool. She'd only ever seen him this embarrassed after he'd sustained damage in battle.

Could he be...?

He hastily pushed himself off the wall, and faced Minako. She could see her blurry reflection in the small forehead protector on his beanie.

"I mean, why just blurt something out like that? Here, of all places...?"

His volume was rising. He was suddenly using pretty wild hand gestures. He definitely felt something. Despite the disappointing lack of  _I love you too._ Shinjiro's strange pride stopped him from saying and doing many things. The fact he hadn't immediately rejected her was almost completely decisive. She knew it. Was there any more point in beating around the bush? Minako weighed her options. She wanted the best outcome; and she was thinking clearly, finally.

"Won't you come to my room?" she asked. She could feel her confidence building again, and her carefree attitude allowed her to tease him for real this time.

"I-I can't do that," Shinji told her.

Oh, now he was taking things seriously!

"I mean, you're..." he tried. "Well, people are gonna get the wrong idea."

Wrong idea? Was he  _not_  interested?

No, that wasn't it. If he wasn't interested in a person, he'd definitely dismiss them instantly. And he was still very pink.

"That just leaves your room then," Minako taunted.

"Y-You moron." It sounded like his goofy teammate's moronicness was some kind of epiphany to him. Had he realised something? Was he shocked?

His tone softened. "I... I ain't a nice guy. I can't let you in my room. Don't you get it?"

Get what? How embarrassed he was? It was hilarious. And to Minako, he seemed perfectly nice.

"I know what I'm saying," she told him. She didn't usually adopt a such an authoritative tone. She briefly wondered if she should more often, if it got things done.

Shinjiro turned his head and looked at her with one eye.

"No way," he said quickly. "It's not gunna happen. Look, you need to watch yourself. Don't bother with someone like me."

Again with the confidence. It kind of hurt her when he said things like that. Not only was he insulting himself, but he was insulting her standards. The only reason he wasn't letting her into his world was because he believed he wasn't worth it. Minako liked to think she had good taste; and that he very well was.

"I still love you, Sempai!" Minako beamed almost uncontrollably. It was a lot easier to say that all of a sudden.

Shinji averted his gaze as he flushed pink again. "Idiot..."

Under the many layers of sarcasm and insults and thick clothing, he liked her. She had him. It was surprising, how easy it was. All she had done was repeat herself.

"C'mon," Minako said, "let's go. I'm your team captain, aren't I? I need to inspect your room."

"...What? Inspect? No, you're... You're not making any sense. Why would you need to do that?"

"What if you're a super-secret double agent? I must inspect it."

"You're... that's not..."

"It's for the good of the team."

"You... ggrrh..."

Shinjiro pulled his hat down, turned around, and gestured for Minako to follow him.

"Thank you!" she grinned.

"Wh-Whatever. You can  _look_  inside my room. That's all."

Minako didn't even bother walking patiently behind Shinjiro. She barged past him and dashed up the stairs.

"Hey...! Wait! What are you doing, you idiot?! Stupid little..."

Despite enjoying herself, Minako did feel guilty about this. She didn't want to make her own friend feel uncomfortable. However, Shinji was the type of person to force himself out of almost any situation which he might have found, well,  _nice._  Minako still didn't know why he did it, and she hoped she wasn't touching any nerves; but she wanted this all sorted, and everything about Shinji's feelings for her to be out in the open. If it was going to be painful on the way, so be it. She was fed up of constantly being so unsure. Besides, Akihiko seemed to give her a good  _go-get-'em_  signal when he left the two of them alone. Maybe Shinjiro had told him something.

Being so huge, Shinji caught up with Minako easily.

"Moron, I have the key!" he scolded.

Oh. Oh yeah. Maybe following him was the best idea after all.

Shinjiro grumbled at Minako irritably as he led her across the landing. She knew he was being playful. He'd be scary if he wasn't.

"I need to see your room, Sempai," she affirmed.

"Yeah. You can see it. Nothing else."

"But I need to go inside..."

They reached the door. Shinjiro looked for the correct key on his keychain. He didn't have many keys, yet he was taking surprisingly long.

"Please let me in," Minako asked bluntly.

"No."

She childishly tugged his coat. " _Pleaaase?"_

_"_ _H-_ Hey! No! Lemme unlock the door!"

"But Sempai," she begged, "I need to go in! It's for everyone's safety."

"No, you don't. There's not much in there, so - get  _off,_ dammit! _-_ so you can stay out here and not cause me any trouble. It's better that way for you, too."

He unlocked the door, and it let it open. Minako edged past him, giving him a cute stare with her scarlet eyes, and let herself into his room. He knew she was going to do that, and she knew he was going to let her. She grinned at herself. She'd managed to get quite far.

Shinjiro sighed, entered and closed the door behind them. He walked around Minako, so that she was between himself and the door.

He was not lying when he said there wasn't much in his room. It was practically empty, except for a bed and a desk. It was almost sad to see how little personality the place reflected. It was just so  _dull._ Not even cookbooks, anywhere. Didn't he have any stuff? She couldn't see his battle gear. Where did he keep his things if they weren't in there? He was so full of mysteries...

Shinjiro interrupted her thoughts; which was probably for the best as standing there doing nothing may not have been a very good romantic tactic on Minako's end.

"...So? Happy now?" her sempai questioned. "You're always pushing me around all the time... You're just gunna ignore what  _I_ want, huh?"

Minako readied a retort but paused when she realised her mouth had already fallen open.

Shinjiro looked her in the eye and sighed. His expression... had it become... determined?

"Yeah, well, two can play that game."

Minako had no idea what he meant.

Shinjiro stood up straight. His posture was usually terrible, and him drawing his form to its full height had left Minako utterly stunned.

Man, he was impressive.

Shinjiro took one long stride forwards, and embraced Minako tightly. His head just about rested on top of hers.

"This is your fault you know," she heard him say. She could feel his voice's low rumble, and hear the smile in his tone. "I'm all confused."

He... he what?

"You're all I can think about, day and night," Shinjiro said tenderly. "Dammit, this isn't how it's supposed to be..."

Minako could feel the heat rising in her head. He'd said something similar not too long ago. And she had no clue what he was currently thinking - the exact same as last time. What was _supposed to be_? Was something wrong? Why wouldn't he let himself like her? How long had he wanted to hug her for? Were they completely misunderstanding each-other? He thought about her all the time...? So was this him admitting it? This was happening? So many things Minako didn't know. She could feel how warm he was; she enjoyed being so close to him. She had never seen him display affection on this level before. She realised she probably hadn't considered him capable until now. It was strange.

Minako could feel herself becoming dizzy. Thinking about too many things at once. What would happen? Were they going to start dating? What would Akihiko think?  _So lightheaded._  What was Shinji thinking? Too bad he didn't wield a persona with  _Re_ _Patra._ Minako would've loved to have had a clear mind again.

He let her go. Everything was taken away, and her thoughts were interrupted by Shinjiro's voice again. She didn't mind. He had hugged her.

"You get it, right? Go back to your room. If you don't go now, you're not gonna get another chance."

His tone was neither firm nor joyous. What did he even mean?

"I'm not going anywhere!" Minako declared without thinking too hard.

Shinjro closed his eyes and sighed again. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he chuckled.

Minako's heart lifted. Was he happy?

Shinji snorted to himself, and briefly glanced away.

"I'm gonna make myself clear," he finally spoke with some assertion. "I ain't holding back any more."


	2. Chapter 2

"I ain't holding back any more."

Well, that heavily implied  _something._ Why didn't he ever just get to the point? Not being able to read Shinjiro as easily as she could other people was almost becoming an inconvenience. Sure, it was fun and interesting - but difficult.

"You're not what?" All the questions that had built up in Minako's mind started pouring out. "Why...? I never know what you're talking about, Sempai! I don't know what you want, I don't know if you're trying to push yourself away from what you want, or if you somehow don't want what you want, what is it? Why did you even talk to me? What about the night you gave me the watch? What is-"

Shinjiro gently took Minako by the shoulders, and kissed her.

It was over in a moment.

"Will this get you to shut up?" he murmured.

His lips were so close she could feel him talking. Their foreheads were touching. His hands were placed on her. They'd just kissed a little.

_Holy shit._

"...I'll take that look you're giving me as a yes."

"Sorry!" Minako stuttered. "I... yeah! Okay!"

Shinji smirked, and carefully leaned towards her again. He seemed hesitant. Apparently, despite her literally telling him she loved him earlier, he was still unsure. What a dork. Still, Minako didn't want his confidence to waver; he needed to be comfortable for this experience to be a good one for either of them.

She wrapped her arms around Shinji's neck and pulled him towards her to let him know she was content. Their lips met again.

Minako didn't want to do anything too intrusive now, such as removing his beanie. He could do that himself, if he wanted to. She could feel him under his clothing. He had one arm around her waist, supporting her, which was causing her to lose focus a little. Not that she minded - the feel of his firm support was both reassuring and sublime - but she didn't want to disappoint Shinjiro by having him do all the work.

Their mouths briefly parted, their heads angled, then they continued.

Minako had no clue if she were a good kisser. She knew Shinjiro was. His lips were thin, and shockingly soft and smooth. He may have used that trick; where one brushes their lips with a toothbrush to make them less dry. Such a lovely texture they had. He was using them so gently; no tongue; as if Minako were delicate, and would tear if he made a sudden move. He'd seen her in battle, he knew she was pretty badass; but still, here he was being so cautious and treating her like she was something dainty.

What a gentleman.

He smelled great, too. Freshness from his mouth; and breezy aftershave - probably sandalwood - from his skin. He must have been very hygienic. Understandable, considering how high his standards for himself were when it came to cookery. Man, he made a good curry.

Okay, was this really what she should have been thinking about whilst kissing? Curry and toothbrushes?

Minako then realised her eyes had been closed for a while. She blinked them open, a strange mix of apprehension and excitement stirring inside her chest for some reason. And as if he sensed it, Shinji opened his eyes too.

They paused and looked at each-other for a few moments, lips still locked. Minako spotted some light brown flecks in his grey eyes.

The pair snorted and pulled away from each-other. Shinji didn't even attempt to hide himself chuckling, which left Minako feeling strangely light; resulting in her laughing a little  _too_ loud. Right in his face. How charming.

"You are such a moron," he reminded her.

"Yeah yeah, I know."

There was really no need to be so self-conscious around someone she trusted so much. Minako supposed it was since she didn't have much romantic experience. Shinjiro was likely to be the same. He was confused by his own feelings – there was a chance she was his first crush. He seemed to be one of those people who could only fall for someone once he had formed a strong bond with them.

Their hands intertwined, and they grinned at each-other.

Minako stuck out her bottom lip and blew her auburn fringe away from her eyes. Thankfully, the rest of her hair was tied back; unable to cause her any trouble. Shinjiro continued to grin at her childlike demeanour and took a step backwards, still holding her hands.

"Hey, I'm sorry if-"

"Wait." Minako found herself interrupting him. "No, it's okay. Whatever it is, it's alright. There's nothing you could say right now that would make me change my mind."

Shinjiro watched his feet with wide eyes, blushing.

He was still hiding something. She knew he had been. But he didn't want her to know for now, and that was okay. Minako was fully aware her sempai was a good person, despite how much effort he put into hiding it.

She dropped her tone, and the suffix. "Shinjiro."

He looked at her.

"I mean it."

* * *

Two pairs of shoes lay beside Shinjiro's bed.

Minako's school jacket had been thrown over the railing at the end of the bed. Her headphones, MP3 player and hair accessories were lying on the desk. Shinji had put his beanie hat back on; but his coat hung from a hook nailed to the door.

The buttons on Minako's blouse had been done up wrong, but she didn't bother fixing them. She enjoyed lying peacefully. She enjoyed feeling the cool air against her bare arms. She enjoyed the feel of Shinjiro's breathing and heartbeat underneath her most of all. They were slow and steady; probably because he exercised regularly.

Without his coat on, Shinjiro was dressed entirely in black. The jumper he wore hugged his figure and displayed how exceptional his body was. It was a privilege to use it as an enormous pillow. His chest and arms boasted power, and his legs were long and solid from muscle. Understandable, as he did wield an axe.

If Minako had woken up that morning knowing just how closely she'd have encountered Shinjiro that day, she wouldn't have been able to concentrate in school. She wouldn't have been able to eat her lunch, the excitement would have been too much. Yet there she was, lying on top of him like it was nothing. She had closed her eyes, happily letting herself have only Shinji to regard in her clouding thoughts. She was comfortable, despite lying on her stomach on a Shinjiro-shaped lumpy cushion. Her breathing was deep and quiet, and she enjoyed the feeling of him gently fiddling with her loose hair.

"You moron," he said, his words injecting into the silence. Minako could feel the vibration of his voice whilst she lay on him.

She was happy relaxing. She didn't respond.

"You're a little shit; you know that?"

Minako didn't even twitch. This was pretty funny.

"Look what you've done. I can't think straight..."

Nah, never mind.

"That's normal," she murmured. She felt Shinjiro's slight surprise when he realised she was awake. "You're a stranger to this sort of thing. It's normal to be confused. I'm kind of confused too, you know. Just do what feels natural."

He considered this.

"Good," he said, "because that's what I've been doing so far. You moron."

Really?

"What's natural is mean nicknames...?"

"That... among some other things." He held her close and kissed her forehead. "There's an example."

Minako curled up in delight at that. She would have loved to stay with him in their own little world for an exceptionally long amount of time. Too bad it wouldn't last forever. There would hopefully be similar sessions in the future though.

"What time is it?" she asked him.

He lifted up his wrist.

"The time is... I am not wearing a watch."

"My MP3 player displays the time, I'll have to get up..."

"Tch... You're not wearing it."

"The watch you gave me is super pretty! What if I lose it or break it or let it get stolen? It's precious, you gave it to me! This is stressful business."

"Minako, it was made to be worn."

It wasn't hard to convince her. "Okay... Yeah, I'll wear it. I'm sorry in advance if something terrible happens to it. I mean, the effort both of us put into finding it..."

Minako swung upwards, and Shinji tensed slightly at the sudden pressure. She padded over to the desk in her tights, clicked a button oh her music pod, then turned around.

"It's a bit past ten o'clock," she told him.

"I wasn't the one who asked."

Minako flopped back onto the bed.

"Shut up," she grumbled, pulling Shinjiro's hat over his face. He was smiling beneath it.

"We have a little under an hour 'til we should probably start heading out for training," Minako went on. "You wanna be on the team? It's a full moon in two days, it definitely wouldn't hurt to fit as much work in as possible."

"Yeah. Uh, please."

He was embarrassed to admit even that?

"Okay then!" Minako grinned. "Just don't tell anyone I'm very biased." She winked and crawled onto Shinjiro for more cuddling.

He stiffened. Only ever-so-slightly, but she felt it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Shinjiro, whatever the problem is, I want to solve it."

He laughed without humour.

Minako frowned. What was that for?

He immediately became apologetic. "I... I'm sorry. Look... I said, I ain't a nice guy. I don't... I don't deserve this."

Her expression softened.

"Shinji..."

"And, you should take care of  _Aki_ , not me. He needs someone for... he needs someone."

Minako was well within her right to choose who she spent her time with romantically. It wasn't like she had abandoned her other sempai, anyway. She looked after everyone. Still, Shinji cared about Akihiko to a great extent, more so than he did himself. Why? What caused all this? All three of them had a similar orphaned childhood, but neither Minako nor Akihiko had experienced similar self-negligent issues. And it seemed like Shinji wanted her to know whatever the problem was, but he didn't want to go through with telling her.

"Shinjiro," Minako explained, "you care. You're thoughtful as heck. You even said you didn't visit the café often because you don't want your coughing to make any of the employees uncomfortable! I mean, come on. You're completely filled with nice little things like that."

"I-I wasn't  _trying_  to be nice."

"And that's because you're a naturally nice guy. You try your best for everyone, all the time, and you don't even notice. Especially for Aki."

"Did you just call him Aki?"

Minako let him change the topic. "Oh my gosh. I did. Your fault."

"You moron." He seemed to really appreciate masking his obvious feelings underneath insults which ended up sounding affectionate anyway.

Shinjiro took a deep breath, and sighed it out. "There's something about you... and... I hate how much I like it, I think. It's probably contributing towards the confusion..."

"You luuuurve me."

"Th-That's not... shut up." He covered his face with one hand, poorly hiding his flushing red cheeks.

"We're going to need to get ready," Minako informed, changing the topic herself this time. "Considering that you are Shinjiro, you probably do not want the dorm knowing what happened this evening. I'll have to sneak out whilst nobody is looking, which will be difficult. But regardless, I shall try!"

Minako clambered off the bed, the mattress rumbling slightly under her weight, and began fitting on her shoes. Shinjiro sat up and observed.

"Thanks," he said. The word flew out of him like a bullet from a gun. He  _really_ disliked showing gratitude, huh?

"You're welcome, Shinjirio."

"Never call me that again."

"Good!" said Minako. She jumped upright, shoes tied, and redid her buttons. "Get in-character, act like nothing ever happened. Shinjirio."

"Idiot."

"That's it!"

"You're such a pain in the ass..." He smiled to himself and shook his head.

Minako smiled too, grabbed her uniform from the railing and took her things from his desk. "Mirror?"

"Bathroom."

"Thank you a-very much."

"Grow up, dimwit."

"As your team captain, I order you to take that back."

Shinjiro grunted.

Minako smirked and headed into the bathroom, pulled the switch and begun doing up her hair in the mirror above the sink.

"Don't you need a brush or some shit?" Shinji called from the bed.

"Ih's more diffcult wiffout one, sure," Minako called back, bobby pins in her mouth, "buh I can manage."

"I see. Perhaps I should look into managing my hair better."

"Why not? It'd be handy to keep it out the way whilst in battle."

"That's... a good point. But I think my hat does that anyway."

"Ah, indeed. You suit your hat. Plus, the forehead protector is great for head-butting ominous people on the street."

"Why do you need to bring that up?"

"It's an example of your hat being practical!"

Minako winked at her reflection in the mirror and hopped out the bathroom, looking good as new. She gave Shinji a thumbs-up, peeped out the door's peep-hole on her toes, and nodded to herself.

"I'm gonna sneak out now. See ya!"

"See ya."

She quietly turned the handle, and flipped the lock. She flung open the door in a dramatic  _Mission Impossible_  act, and could sense Shinji's delicious embarrassment as she entered the hallway and hooked her foot around the door to swing it closed.

It clicked shut, and caught the attention of a nearby silver-haired boxer.

"Shinji! Hey! You coming to Tartarus?"

Minako could hear him from the second floor seating area.

_Shit._

She dived back, only to find the door had locked behind her.

_Shit shit shit._

She couldn't call for Shinjiro to let her in; her only hope was for him to notice her frantically rattling the handle. Had Akihiko considered that she'd stayed with him for that long? What would he think? Would he know immediately? Would he learn later? Would he judge them? What if he liked her and became insanely jealous?! She desperately needed to get back inside-

"Minako? What are you doing there?"

Too late!

She abandoned the door and stood up very straight. It probably looked a little strange. "OH! Hello! Akihiko-sempai! I didn't see you there! Hi!"

"Wh-"

Shinjiro stood in the doorway. He was wearing his long coat.

"We've been discussing battle tactics," he said firmly.

Akihiko looked at him in disbelief. "I-"

Shinji gave him no room. "We. Have. Been. Discussing. Battle. Tactics."

Akihiko gave his childhood friend a very fed-up look. "Okay, fine. Yes you have. I'll talk to you later, when you're not... busy."

He awkwardly departed once more.

Minako watched him go, then turned to Shinjiro. He was giving her his usual dead-serious look that he gave everyone; yet she knew he was concerned.

"I'm fine," she told him. "I feel better, after this evening. Thank you."

He nodded.

She gave him one last smile, then too left down the hallway, resisting the urge to skip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my first fic! If you wish to let me know where I can improve, don't be afraid to critique with brutal honesty! Also if you leave even the tiniest of comments I will appreciate it forever.


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